A few Royal Bengal Tigers (RBT) have been residing in the Satkosia Tiger Reserve of Angul district, revealed the recently-concluded All India Tiger Census.
Satkosia Wildlife Division DFO SMT Rehman said the presence of around two to three Royal Bengal Tigers has been ascertained as their pug marks have been found in 13 core areas of the reserve forest, adding that about 1,000 press impression pads (PIPs) were laid at various areas inside the forest for correct identification of the pug marks. “We have collected excreta, scratch marks on tree barks, leftover meals and footages from CCTV cameras, which will be sent to laboratory for analysis after which the exact number of tigers in the forest can be determined”, said the DFO.
Apart from tigers, the forest officials had also carried out census of herbivorous animals inside the forest. And, it revealed the presence of 30 herbivorous animals in every one sq km of the Satkosia Wildlife Division whereas their number is 26 inside the tiger reserve of the Mahanadi Wildlife Division.
The DFO also informed that the census report also shows presence of 15 Sambhars in every one sq km inside the core forest area of the Mahanadi Wildlife Division. “Going by the report, the number of Sambhars inside the Satkosia Reserve Forest is quite encouraging for the survival of tigers,” he added.